


Mutual Care

by CreationOfMell



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bittybones (Undertale), Depression, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, No Smut, Non-Graphic Violence, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, Past Abuse, Reader Is Not Frisk (Undertale), Reader is a vampire, Reader-Insert, Self-Esteem Issues, Vamp has issues, big and small Bittys, kustard in later chapters, mythical creatures exist, reader is female
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2019-06-27
Packaged: 2019-07-24 15:44:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16178171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CreationOfMell/pseuds/CreationOfMell
Summary: You live with your best friend in the woods, far away from any humans. It’s good how it is. So why does your friend has to leave? And what is that parting gift she is talking about?You won’t be left alone like you were afraid of. Instead you will have some small company very soon. You’re not sure if that is a good thing or not.Let’s find out!





	1. The Parting Gift

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone and welcome!
> 
> I hope you will enjoy my story.  
> Unfortunately my first language isn't English, so I apologize in advance for any mistakes.
> 
> There aren’t any Bittys in the first chapter, sorry for that. But worry not! There will be Bittys and Vamp’s future Bitty in the next chapter ;) Who might that be, I wonder?
> 
> Last but not least: I don’t own Undertale or the Bittybones AU. Only my OCs are my own.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You wake up, drink some blood and go to the city to get your parting gift from your friend.

Everything was dark and peaceful. A comfortable warmth surrounded you and you didn’t want to wake up any time soon.

Unfortunately for you someone didn’t seem to share that sentiment with you.

Something was poking your cheek repeatedly. You growled sleepily and tried to swat the annoyance away, not bothering to open your eyes. You sighed dreamily when the poking stopped, only for it to start again on your other cheek.

You grimaced and without warning you snapped at the offending finger, only to bite down on empty air, followed by a feminine giggle.

“Careful there, [Y/N]! You’re so grumpy in the morning.”

Sighing heavily you cracked one eye open and looked at the blurry image of your roommate, who was currently sitting on the side of your bed and grinning down at you. Did she just say ‘in the morning’?

“Morning?”, you repeated sleepily, while your gaze went over to one of the windows with the heavy curtains pulled closed. Indeed you could see some sunlight between the cracks of the curtains. Why was your friend waking you up in the morning of all times? She knew that you hated the day. Sunlight was poisonous for you! So you looked back at your friend with an accusing glare.

“Don’t give me that look! Contrary to what humans believe you won’t die out in the sun, we both know that!” Your roommate’s voice was really too cheerful for the early morning hours.

“Yeah, yeah. Damn fairy...”, you mumbled grumpily and rolled your eyes, but you still couldn’t suppress the small smile on your lips.

Your roommate, alias your best friend, was a really beautiful fairy. Long blond hair, glowing green eyes and two nearly transparent wings on her back, which shimmered in the colors green and blue in the sunlight. Fairies were often cheerful creatures by nature and your friend wasn’t any exception. Sometimes you envied her for that. Just being happy sounded nice, instead of the many dark thoughts which crossed your mind daily.

“Love you too, grumpy vampire”, the fairy teased you and patted your head like she was petting a dog. But then her smile fell and she looked a little bit sad. “Jokes aside, today is the day I have to leave. Since I have to go in a few hours, I figured I wake you up now, so that we can spend some time together before I go. I want to say goodbye properly.”

Your good mood plummeted immediately. That’s right… For a moment you completely forgot about that. Your friend had to leave because of some family business or something. You hadn’t asked any further, accepting your best friend’s privacy. You didn’t want her to go, but you couldn’t stop her either. When she would be gone, you would be all alone again. Alone with your dark thoughts and your problems. You hated being alone, to be lonely.

“Hey, sweety. I’m sorry, but cheer up! We can still call each other! Besides I have a surprise for you, some kind of parting gift!”

Another heavy sigh left your lips, as you looked back up at the fairy, who was smiling down at you with a bittersweet smile. You bit your lip, before you tried to put on a weak smile for your friend. You didn’t want to ruin the last few hours you had with her with your dark mood.

“I don’t need a gift, still, thank you. So what is it?”

“A surprise! Like I said! You will see later”, the fairy promised and winked with a cheeky grin on her face. Again you rolled your eyes, but your own smile was more genuine this time.

“So, ready for breakfast?”, your friend asked and you nodded, before you got out of bed and followed her out of your bedroom. On the way to the kitchen you yawned and rubbed your eyes, receiving an amused smile from the fairy.

In the kitchen you immediately went over to the fridge and opened it. There wasn’t much food left, what you supposed was a good thing. Your roommate was the only one in this house who ate normal food and she leaving meant that there wasn’t anyone there anymore to eat it all. So the less food in the fridge the better. It would be a shame if it all went bad after a while.

“What do you want to eat?” You looked back at the fairy, while you gestured to the open fridge. Even though you didn’t eat normal food yourself, you were a surprisingly good cook. You remember taking some cooking lessons years ago because you had been that bored. And you might have wanted to impress someone. A shame that the relationship didn’t last long.

“Just take what is left in there and surprise me.” You shrugged as an answer and turned back to the fridge.

A tomato, half of a lettuce head, some bacon, two eggs and a nearly empty bottle of milk. You grabbed everything, put it on the counter and then got a pan out of one of the cupboards. After you put the pan on the stove, you got a knife and a chopping board. The whole time you worked on breakfast you could feel your friend’s intense gaze on your back.

“Here is your breakfast. Can’t imagine it will taste very good, but anyway, enjoy!”, you said with a small mischievous smile on your lips, while you put a small salad, fried bacon and scrambled eggs in front of the fairy.

“Nonsense! Everything you cook tastes good!”, your roommate protested immediately, whereupon you just shrugged. It’s not like you couldn’t eat the food yourself, but you knew that it wouldn’t taste good to you. Only blood, human or animal blood alike, could be enjoyed by your taste buds. And besides that you weren’t very fond of puking. Every normal food had to leave your system at some point again.

Just as you were about to get yourself a bag of blood out of the fridge your best friend stopped you.

“Hold up! You can have some of my blood, after I finished my delicious breakfast.”

You tensed up slightly, while looking at your friend in disbelieve, who was just sitting there smiling like an idiot and eating her breakfast. Was she serious? The first and last time you drunk from her hadn’t been such a great experience for both of you.

“Why?”, you couldn’t help but ask warily.

“Well, I know for a fact that you like warm blood better than old cold blood from the fridge. Especially my blood is really tasty for you, right? I remember it having a very calming effect on you. Probably because I’m a fairy.”

“You also remember how last time ended, right?”

“Of course! I will never forget how we both met. You were in a very dark place back then...”

“And you still want me to drink your blood?”

“Yes. You’re mental state is more stable nowadays, so I don’t have to be afraid of anything. Just take it as a gift!”

“So me drinking blood from you is my parting gift?”

“No silly! Of course not! The real parting gift is much better!”, your best friend promised, as she shoved the last bit of her breakfast into her mouth.

If you were honest the offer sounded really tempting to you, but you still felt wary about it. You didn’t want to hurt your best friend.

The fairy put her plate into the sink, before she stepped up to you and held her wrist up to your lips, all the while smiling at you reassuringly.

“Are you really sure about that?”, you asked again, while swallowing hard. Your whole body was tense as you stared at the delicate wrist right in front of your face. Up close you could smell the faint scent of blood underneath your friend’s natural flowery scent. It smelled so good! It took a lot of effort to hold back, so when the fairy nodded firmly as an answer all your restraints broke down.

Hastily you grabbed her wrist a little bit too harshly and sunk your fangs into the tender flesh. A small moan left your lips, as the first drops of blood met your tongue. At first you started to suck greedily, but the more blood you gulped down the more you calmed down, until you were just nibbling gently on the wrist. You looked up with half lidded eyes, when you felt a gentle hand on your head, that was stroking your hair slowly.

“I think that’s enough. And it seems my blood still has a very calming effect on you. You look like you’ll fall asleep any moment.” Your friend’s words were followed by an amused chuckle.

You needed some seconds to process her words, but when you did you slowly released her wrist and licked over the wound, before licking over your own lips. You felt at ease and very relaxed. You wouldn’t say no to a little nap right now. Normal blood never made you feel like this and you distantly wondered why that was the case, before you pushed those thoughts aside and just shrugged mentally. You felt too high on endorphins right now to think about something like that.

“Well, it’s about time to head out. Your parting gift is waiting!”, your friend announced as she grabbed your wrist, pushed you into your room with an order to get changed, before disappearing into her own room.

You were still under the relaxing spell of the fairy’s blood, so that you didn’t even think about protesting and just proceeded to do what your best friend told you to do.

It didn’t take long until you both stood in front of your house. While you looked around at all the trees and greenery, the fairy locked the front door of the house. You blinked a couple of times as you noticed that the calming effect of the blood was lessening a bit and you got more aware of your surroundings.

You looked from the forest to your friend, only to frown slightly.

“Why do you have all those bags with you?”

“Because I’m leaving today? Don’t tell me my blood scrambled up your brain that much!”, she joked, as she turned around to you.

“I know, but I thought you weren’t leaving until a few hours.”

“Oh, that’s what you meant. I’ll leave right away after I give you your gift. It takes some time to get to the airport.”

“Oh… Alright.” Despite the blood’s lingering spell, you felt disappointed at that. You thought you had a little bit more time with your best friend.

“Don’t look so sad! You’re making me sad too. Come on, help me load these bags into my car, please!”

You just nodded, grabbed the most heavy bags with ease and loaded them into the trunk of your friend’s car, which was standing only some meters away on a dirt road. A quick glance up at the sky and through the treetops revealed that it was a very cloudy day. You were glad for small favors.

“Just tell me what this gift is, for that we even have to go to the city”, you tried to get some information out of her again. You were still sad about your friend leaving, but the ever growing curiosity was killing you. By that time all relaxed feelings seemed to have vanished and left you with a turmoil of emotions.

“I’m not telling! Now get in the car!”

Damn it. You wanted to know now! With a frustrated growl you sat down on the passenger seat and closed the door of the car. The fairy was just smirking at you, while she started the car and drove off to the direction of the city.

You silently watched the scenery go by. The forest changed to some meadows until after a while houses could be spotted in the distance. All the while you and the fairy listened to the radio and talked about this and that.

When the town sign came into view, the fairy’s wings vanished with a short bright light. It was a handy trick to look like the other humans, who had no idea that any mythical creatures really existed. Sometimes it could be a pain in the neck to hide all the time.

You were pulled out of your thoughts when the car stopped moving and you noticed that your friend had parked on a large parking area.

“Here we are! Our destination and your gift is just around the corner”, the fairy proclaimed, before she got out of the car. You followed suit and walked over to your friend.

“Now close your eyes!”

“Seriously?” You looked at her suspiciously, but your best friend’s grin just got bigger as an answer. You sighed, rolled your eyes and then complied with your friend’s request.

“Happy now?”, you asked dryly with your eyes shut.

“Perfect!” With a quiet giggle the fairy grabbed your hand and started to guide you to your destination.

You blindly followed her lead, trusting in your friend that she wouldn’t let you walk into a lamp post or something. You still thought that this was too much of a fuss for a simple parting gift – whatever the gift was, what you still didn’t know!

“Now open your eyes!”

Your eyes immediately shot open, only to see a big building in front of you. It looked nice and inviting. You frowned deeply when you spotted the big letters above the entrance.

“A Bitty-shop?!”, you exclaimed out of disbelieve, while you shot your friend a look, that clearly stated that she lost her mind. You couldn’t take care of a bitty!

“Congrats you can read”, the fairy joked, before she looked at you with a soft smile on her lips.

“Forget it! I can’t take care of a bitty! I can’t take care of myself most of the time! How am I supposed to take care of a little fragile living being when I can’t do it for myself?!”

You couldn’t believe this. What was your best friend thinking?!

“[Y/N], calm down. Listen to me, please. I’m worried for you. I wouldn’t leave if I had a choice in the matter, but I can’t ignore my family. I know how you can get when you’re left alone for a long time. Which you had been when I first met you… I don’t want to see you in that dark place again. I’m worried you will do something stupid when I’m gone. So I thought a bitty would be the perfect solution. The little guys are intelligent and they can talk. With a bitty in the house you would have company, maybe even a friend over time and you would have a purpose: Taking care of your new charge”, the fairy explained, that bittersweet smile on her lips again, before she suddenly hugged you tightly.

“So please, accept my gift. A bitty would be a good thing for you.” After a short pause, in which you didn’t say anything, she started speaking again. “And besides that I already paid for everything in advance. So you can’t really say no, right?”

You had to admit that your friend had a point. You didn’t really want to think about it, but deep down you were afraid to be alone again. The dark thoughts that overwhelmed you, the sweet murmurs of death in your head and the ever growing apathy creeping into your whole being. No, that hadn’t been a pretty time. Those thoughts were still there, but with your friend around they weren’t at the front of your mind.

You sighed deeply, before shooting her a dirty look out of the corner of your eye, as she mentioned that everything was already paid for. Dirty move… Now you were kind of obliged to get that bitty or else you would be rude. And it would be a hassle to explain to the shop owner why the purchase had to be canceled. Grumbling to yourself you finally returned the hug.

“Fine.”

“Great! Thank you, [Y/N]. You won’t regret it and I can be reassured that you won’t be alone in my absence.” When she stepped back you could see a bright smile directed at you, whereupon you smiled faintly back.

“If you say so.” You shrugged, still not sure if you made the right decision. You hoped that your friend was right and you wouldn’t regret your choice later. Only time could tell, you supposed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Visit me on my [Tumblr](https://creationofhell.tumblr.com/).


	2. Choose your Bitty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You meet a kindred soul. Maybe? Maybe not. 
> 
> Or: You get your new charge and hope that this isn't a mistake.

Even though you reluctantly agreed to get a bitty, you didn’t take a step toward the building. Instead you were staring at the entrance, a big double door out of glass.

“Come on, let’s get inside. You have to meet your new charge!” The fairy smiled as she grabbed your hand and pulled you toward the double door. You could hear a bell chiming above you as the both of you stepped over the threshold. You couldn’t stop the morbid thought from entering your mind, that those chiming bells could also be interpreted as your personal death bell. You were still not sure about getting a bitty.

“Welcome!” A feminine voice greeted you inside.

You looked around and spotted an old woman walking towards you. She was smiling kindly, when her gaze landed on your friend and her face lit up in recognition.

“Oh it’s you. So then this must be your lonely friend you were talking about. It’s nice to see you, my dear. You look very exhausted, you poor child. Don’t worry we have the right bitty for everyone!”

You shot the fairy a sharp look, which your friend seemed to not notice on purpose. What did she tell the old lady? And you looked exhausted?! What gave it away? The dark rings under your eyes, your dead looking eyes or your whole posture that screamed defeat?! You couldn’t help but feel irritated, even though it was a true statement.

“Good to know”, you replied with a forced polite smile on your lips, trying to not let your irritation show. It wouldn’t be fair to wreak your anger on the old woman. The real culprit was your best friend, who was excusing the both of you, before pulling you to the side to have some privacy.

“Don’t be mad, [Y/N]. I just told her some superficial details. That I have to move, you would be alone and lonely in the house and that you have problems with depression. Nothing more, I promise!”, the fairy tried to reassure you. She knew you too well, if she already knew how you would react.

“That’s already too much!”

“Sorry, I can’t take it back now. Just bear with it, please! I have to go now...”

You glared at her, before you finally sighed deeply and nodded slightly. You were still a little bit miffed about your friend’s actions, but you also didn’t want to say goodbye while you were mad at the fairy.

“Alright.” This time it was you who initiated the hug, which your best friend returned immediately. You don’t know how long you both stood there in the shop, just hugging each other tightly.

The fairy stepped back first, but not before she gave you a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Take care of yourself and your new friend. I’ll miss you. And I hope this won’t be a farewell but a goodbye. Love you!”

“Love you too, damn fairy.”

“My grumpy vampire.” With a giggle the fairy patted your head one last time, before turning around and leaving the bitty shop for good.

You stared at the now closed doors for a long time, until the shop owner’s kind voice yanked you back to reality.

“Goodbyes are always hard. I’m sure you will see your friend again. But now, my dear, let’s find you a bitty. Follow me please.”

“Sure...”, you muttered quietly, as you followed the old lady along the aisles, while fleetingly looking at all the shelves. You had no idea what half of that stuff even was or what purpose it could have.

“Considering your… circumstances I would recommend a Blue. The little guys can take care of themselves and their owner. They’re cheerful and energetic”, the shop owner explained, when you both came to a stop in front of a big playground with high glass panels surrounding the construct.

You silently looked at all the bittys in the playground. They all looked more or less the same: a white shirt, a blue scarf around the neck, blue shorts, blue boots and blue sparkling eyelights. You could see where the name for a Blue came from. You also noticed with surprise that even though all of those bittys were a Blue type, they didn’t all possess the same height. The smallest ones would be as big as your palm, while the biggest ones reached up to your knees. Very curious.

“HELLO LADY! HOW ARE YOU? IT’S NICE TO MEET YOU!” One of the bigger Blues shouted up at you, whereupon you couldn’t help but wince slightly. That little guy was way too loud! Were all Blues so loud?

“ARE YOU GOING TO ADOPT ME?”

“YOU’RE PRETTY LADY!”

“BUT SHE LOOKS SAD!”

More and more Blues spotted you and scurried over to you and the shop owner, looking up at you with big round eye sockets. That at least answered your question. They were all loud and their voices were a little bit too high pitched for you. You grimaced as you looked down at all the Blues. They reminded you of loud obnoxious children. Annoying…

“I don’t think a Blue is the right choice for me. Sorry little guys.” You smiled down at the bittys, even though your smile looked more like a grimace than anything else.

“Are you sure, my dear?”

“Yeah, pretty sure. They’re cute but a little bit too loud for me.”

“I see...”, before the old lady could say anything else the door bell chimed, announcing a new customer.

“Why don’t you look around, maybe you see a bitty you like. I will be back shortly, my dear.”

You watched how the shop owner went back to the front of the store to attend to her new customer’s interests.

Sighing again you waved at the Blues and quickly walked away from the playground to look around the shop. You peeked into some other playgrounds around the shop, but never getting too close, so that you wouldn’t get dragged into a conversation.

You were aware that bittys existed for a long time, but you never knew that there were so many different types. Come to think of it, you also didn’t know that much about bittys. You adopting a bitty could only end in a catastrophe.

You stopped in your tracks, when a big colorful poster caught your eye. You stepped up to the poster on the wall and began to read.

‘ _~ Bittys come in different sizes: from at least 10 cm through to maximal 50 cm._

_~ To survive a bitty needs food and some magic from humans, which their soul produces unconsciously and the bitty feeds of off. It’s not harmful and the magic’s quality is a lot better from a human who loves their Bitty._

_~ Bittys can tele-’_

Your reading session was abruptly interrupted when you felt a sudden chill down your back and a strange feeling in your soul. What was that?!

Alert you turned around, surveying the shop for anything suspicious, until your eyes locked with two red eyelights, that were staring at you.

It was a big Edgey, if you remembered that bitty’s type correctly.

Curious you slowly went over to the big bitty, silently wondering why he was alone in a big glass box while all the other bittys were in their playgrounds with their own type. Still not saying anything you stopped in front of the cage and examined the Edgey.

He was big, probably 50 cm tall. The crack over his left eye socket, that reached down to his mouth caught your attention immediately. At the end of the deep crack you spotted a shining fake gold tooth among his other sharp teeth. Beside the intense red eyelights you couldn’t see anything else of his body. The little guy wore a thick red sweater, long black trousers, which seemed to be really baggy and two small red sneakers. It was kind of cute how he was glaring at you.

You frowned out of confusion as that glare transformed into a shit eating grin.

“See somethin’ ya like, sweetheart?”, the Edgey spoke up in a surprisingly deep voice, cheekily grinning. He even winked at you!

You couldn’t help but to get flustered. You hadn’t expected such a reaction and now you realized that you had been staring at the bitty for a long time. Gosh, you were so rude.

“Sorry!”, you mumbled quickly and averted your eyes. Because of that you spotted the old lady walking up to you with a conflicted look on her face. Was something wrong?

“Oh my dear, don’t tell me your interested in that Edgey? I wouldn’t recommend the little guy to you. Edgeys tend to bite and are more violent than most bittys. The poor thing has issues of his own and with your own problems, well, he wouldn’t be a big help to you. You see, he had two owners before and… I don’t want to bore your with the details, but he had a rough past.”

You looked back at the Edgey with mixed feelings. The bitty looked sad and angry at the same time, not looking at either you or the shop owner.

You could understand the pain of being alone, not being wanted by anyone and feeling like an outcast. Even among the mythical community vampires weren’t the most popular species, not to mention what humans thought about vampires. Ironically the description for an Edgey reminded you of a vampire. Likes to bite and is more violent than others could also be said about your species.

Maybe you should get that Edgey? It seemed likely that he would understand you with similar issues as you. But in there also lied the problem. You couldn’t deal very well with your own mental issues, so how were you supposed to help the bitty with his? That Edgey needed an owner, who could take care of him and give him all the love that he deserved. You doubted that you could be that owner.

With a heavy heart and an apologetic look you turned away from the big bitty, not sure what you were even doing here. You wouldn’t be a good owner for any bitty, not with your problems. Not as long as you were what you are, a vampire. You were pulled out of your thoughts when you heard the Edgey mumbling something, whereupon you froze. You only heard it because of your good vampire hearing.

“Tch! Humans are all the same. Of course no one wants me… Fuckin’ selfish, stupid hum-”

You whirled around, looking straight at the bitty, who immediately shut his mouth and looked back at you with wide eye sockets, while nervous red sweat gathered on his head.

‘No one wants me.’ That sentence resonated deep down in your soul. How often had that thought entered your mind over the many millennia you already existed? You didn’t want to be one of those selfish, stupid humans, who you met plenty of in your lifetime. You didn’t want to do to Edgey what happened to you so often, getting abandoned for what your are, for something you couldn’t change. You wanted to be better than that. And right now you had done exactly that to Edgey. You hurt him in a way you never wanted to. That thought didn’t sit right with you.

“I want him”, you stated firmly, no doubt left in your mind. You made your decision.

“Excuse me?” The old lady as well as Edgey looked shocked at your exclamation.

“I take that Edgey, please.”

“Are your sure, my dear? He is-”

“I’m sure. I won’t change my mind.”

“Alright then, if you insist.”

“I do.”

“Then please wait here, my dear. I will get the adoption papers. Just a moment, please.”

You watched how the shop owner walked away and went into the back of the shop. Not until you couldn’t see the old lady anymore did you turn back to the big bitty. Edgey was staring at you warily and you just stared back. After a while you attempted a nervous smile, trying to ease the little guy’s nerves a little. You observed how his little face changed from wary to slightly happy, before settling on a deep frown. You wondered what was going on in his head.

Not knowing what you could or even should say you stayed silent. The bitty and you were just staring at each other in complete silence until the old woman came back.

You thanked the shop owner briefly and took the adoption papers, before signing them. As you put your last signature down, you remembered something very important. You were completely unprepared for a bitty. Where should the little guy sleep? He needed food, right? Food you didn’t have in your house. What did you even need for a bitty?

“What essentials do I need for the little guy?” You looked questioningly at the old lady, anew doubts raising in your mind.

“Don’t worry about that, my dear. Your friend already took care of that. Everything you will need at the beginning should be delivered to you in the afternoon today.”

“Oh… ok.” How much money did your friend spend on all this? You felt a little bit guilty. Shouldn’t you pay the fairy back? It was technically a gift, but this was too much. A bitty alone wasn’t cheap, not to mention all the other stuff you needed for a bitty.

You had no time to think further on that matter, as the shop owner got a dog crate from somewhere and opened the large glass box. You watched how the old lady grabbed the Edgey and lifted him out of his cage. The old woman didn’t even flinch when the little guy growled and tried to bite the hands that were holding him. Before his sharp teeth could have met flesh, he was dropped safely into the dog crate. She closed the dog crate and handed it to you.

“Good luck, my dear. I hope you won’t regret your choice.”

“Thank you. Goodbye.” You also were hoping that you made the right choice today. With a small smile you nodded towards the old woman, before turning around and leaving the shop with the dog crate and your new bitty in your hands.

It was still very cloudy, for what you were grateful. You hated the sun with a passion, being a vampire and all.

You looked around, noticing that you didn’t have a ride home. The damn fairy and her car were long gone. You already missed your best friend. Sighing heavily you took your cellphone out of your pocket and called for a taxi. It would take a long time to walk all the way to your house in the woods. At least if you would not use your vampire speed. You didn’t want to do that in the presence of Edgey. You were not entirely sure, but you thought that the little guy thought that you were human. You were afraid what he would think or do if he found out the truth, that you were definitely not human.

It didn’t take long for the taxi to arrive. You climbed into the back, gave the driver your address and then leaned back in your seat.

What was your friend thinking? Were you crazy for going along with it? You really hoped that this wasn’t a mistake after all. You wanted to be at least a decent owner for your new charge. You couldn’t live with yourself if you added to Edgey’s pain. But it was so easy to hurt someone, no matter if it was on accident or not. Sighing for the hundredth time this day you looked silently at the scenery outside the car window. Everything was going to be alright, it had to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I drew Edgey and made a height reference sheet.  
> You can find it here: [Edgey and Height Reference](https://creationofhell.tumblr.com/post/178818566887/edgey-from-my-fanfiction-mutual-care-and-a-height)
> 
> Next chapter will be Edgeys POV ;)
> 
>  
> 
> Visit me on my [Tumblr](https://creationofhell.tumblr.com/).


	3. Getting Adopted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edgey's POV of the second chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On this note: Thank you to [norapretzel](https://norapretzel.tumblr.com/) for being the Beta Reader of this chapter :)

The distinct sound of the door being unlocked rose him from his slumber. The bitty growled lowly. He opened his eye sockets and looked over to the double door, which he could barely see from his cage.

Edgey didn’t bother to get up, he already knew that it was just the old lady opening her shop for the day. He yawned, while he clung to his worn blanket. His red eyelights traced the shop owner’s every step, silently dreading the day to come.

He wasn’t looking forward to the day ahead, hell, he wasn’t looking forward to any day in this damn bitty shop! With every new customer there was a chance that he could get adopted, what he wanted but what he also was afraid of. The thought of a new owner frightened him and filled him with hope simultaneously.

He didn’t know what he wanted! He just knew that he didn’t want to fucking die! But in order to not die, in order to survive, he needed the damn magic of a fucking human’s soul. Sometimes he really cursed his own being and how he functioned. What fucked up shit was this that one had to depend on those shitty humans to be able to live?!

But in the end it didn’t matter what he wanted. He won’t get adopted, ever. No one wanted him anymore. Who wanted a bitty with fucking issues?

Edgey was pulled out of his thoughts as the old woman opened his glass box and put some food onto the ground, before closing his cage again. He grimaced at the sight of the food, or, how he called it, fucking disgusting gray mush. It didn’t taste very good, but it did still the hunger. Sighing heavily he got up and walked over to the bowl to sit down beside it. He grabbed the spoon and started to eat his gray mush, gulping it down fast so that he didn’t have to taste it.

When he was finished with his meal he looked over to the shop owner. The old lady was putting some bittys in the playground, so he watched how all the Blues laughed and cried while jumping around in their playground. The Sansys were mostly just lazing around or talking quietly with each other. There was even a small playground for Edgeys, in which he himself wasn’t allowed. He huffed as he remembered the little incident that banished him from being allowed into the playground. It wasn’t his fault that he bit that little Edgey, that fucking nuisance had it coming!

Grumbling to himself he watched how the old woman did some other stuff out of sight, before opening the shop.

It didn’t take long for the first humans to flood in. Naturally they immediately went to the playgrounds, gushing over all the cute bittys, laughing and talking loudly with each other and the bittys. But no one came to his corner of the shop.

He watched it all grimly, envious of the other bittys, who were still so innocent and didn’t have a care in the world. They didn’t know how cruel humans could be.

Why couldn’t he have that? He just wanted to be loved…

The first onslaught of customers didn’t stay that long in the shop. After a while the humans gradually left the bitty shop until no one was left, but Edgey was sure that it wouldn’t take long for other customers to arrive.

Speak of the devil. He watched how you and your friend stepped into the building, whereupon the old woman greeted you. He couldn’t understand what you were talking about, a fact that didn’t bother him. He wasn’t interested in your conversation, but watching the customers was more interesting than staring at nothing. It could get really boring real fast in here.

So he watched silently how the blond left the shop without looking at any bittys, which left you and the shop owner. You went over to the Blues’ playground, who immediately scurried over to the new arrival. Even from here in his glass box Edgey could dully hear the loud annoying voices of the Blues. All little annoying brats in his opinion. He cocked his head slightly as he saw how you winced upon hearing the little shits. He guessed you didn’t like loud noise. When you grimaced he couldn’t stop smirking, it seemed that you also didn’t like the annoying brats. It was even better when he saw the disappointed faces of the Blues. He laughed gloatingly.

He observed how the shop owner left and you started to look around the shop. He couldn’t help but notice how tired you looked. Your body language screamed exhaustion and your dull eyes looked dead to the world. He didn’t like that look, it reminded him a little bit of himself.

When you stopped in front of a too colorful poster curiosity got the best of Edgey. He knew he wasn’t supposed to, but he honestly didn’t care. So he checked you.

** [Y/N] **

** ATK 150 **

** DEF 100 **

** Wants to go back to bed. Doesn’t know what to do with her life. **

** Isn’t sure if a bitty is a good idea. **

He was also interested in your HP, LV and EXP, but unfortunately he could only see those things when the owner of the soul gave him permission or if the person was unconscious. Out of some strange reason being asleep didn’t count as being unconscious and unguarded. He tried, so he knew. Magic was fucking weird sometimes.

He frowned upon inspecting your stats. Even for a grownup you had unusual high stats. How could they be so high? You didn’t look strong at all, more fragile than anything. And those sentences… He didn’t like the sound of it and what it could imply.

He didn’t get a chance to ponder the issue any further, as you suddenly turned around and met his gaze. That had to be a coincidence, right? You couldn’t have noticed his little check. Even though human souls produced magic, humans were still too fucking dumb to use it or even feel it.

So he chalked it up to coincidence, you were looking through the shop after all and you didn’t look offended, only curious.

He unconsciously stiffened when you walked over to his cage and stopped in front of it. Instead of saying anything you just stared at him. He really had to suppress the urge to fidget under your intense gaze, so that he glared right back instead.

You didn’t consider adopting him, right?

After a while the silence got more and more awkward. Out of sheer desperation he opened his mouth to interrupt that damn silence.

“ See somethin’ ya like, sweetheart?”, he spoke up with false cheer and winked at you. You didn’t have to know that he didn’t feel so confident like he pretended to be.

Your flustered reaction was really amusing. He would have loved to tease you a little bit more, if the shop owner wouldn’t have picked that moment to return.

He listened to what the old lady told you. He couldn’t deny any of that, it was true after all, but that still didn’t stop him from getting angry. How could that old fuck spill the beans to you?! Now he definitely didn’t have a chance to get adopted by you! Not like he wanted to be adopted by you, but still! It wasn’t fair! The rejection of not being wanted hurt every time.

His assumption was confirmed when he saw how you turned away with an apologetic look on your face. He knew it, it was always the same!

“ Tch! Humans are all the same. Of course no one wants me… Fuckin’ selfish, stupid hum-”, he instantly shut his mouth with a clack, when you suddenly whirled around and looked at him.

You couldn’t have heard that, right?! Or could you? Well, you obviously did hear it or else you wouldn’t be staring at him like that! He didn’t even notice how red sweat gathered on his head, while his soul pounded harder in his ribcage. Were you angry? He just insulted you unintentionally. He would be angry if someone insulted him. He couldn’t read your fucking face! Say something, damn it!

“ I want him.”

What?! He could just stare at you, shocked at your declaration to adopt him. He didn’t expect that. He wasn’t sure if he really believed it either.

He silently watched how the shop owner tried to change your mind, before giving up on that.

What was your motive? Why would you want him when the old lady already warned you about him? What the fuck were you thinking?

When the shop owner left to get the adoption papers the staring game between you and Edgey began anew. He saw your nervous smile, which didn’t help him to figure you out. What was your fucking deal? He insulted you and you still wanted him? Why?! So you could make him pay for it? Did you want to punish him for his big mouth? It wouldn’t be the first time his big mouth got him into trouble. But the text during the check suggested something else. Maybe you just understood him on some level and wanted a companion? He didn’t know why but if he was honest he felt some kind of kinship to that weird ass human. Maybe, just maybe he could have a happy life again. No, he shouldn’t get his hopes up like this, only to get them crushed again like before. He frowned deeply, fighting with all these confusing emotions.

He didn’t even register the return of the old woman, too deep in his own thoughts, so that he shut out the outside world.

He startled badly when he suddenly was lifted out of his cage. He growled and tried to snap at the offending hands more out of a reflex than anything else. He didn’t like to be touched without a warning!

The next thing he knew was that he was in a dog crate with some fluffy blankets in it. His soul churned uncomfortably in his ribcage. So he really was adopted. Huh… so you weren’t joking about that after all. He honestly had no clue what he was supposed to think. He didn’t want to think about it.

Feeling vulnerable he grabbed one of the blankets and curled himself into it, so that only his eyelights were visible through a crack.

He really hoped this time would be different.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Visit me on my [Tumblr](https://creationofhell.tumblr.com/).


	4. The Name

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You get home, show your bitty your home and have a little talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys!  
> Thank you so much for all the kudos, subscriptions and comments! <3  
> I didn't expect that :'>
> 
> Also I'm sorry for the long wait, but I guess you have to get used to it. I'm a really slow writer^^;
> 
> Without further ado enjoy the chapter!

Before you knew it, you were in front of your house in the woods. You thanked the driver and paid him, who nodded back and drove off, after quickly counting the money you gave him.

You couldn’t help but ask yourself what you were supposed to do now? What should you do about your new bitty? This whole ordeal really wasn’t thought through.

Sighing deeply you stepped up to your front door and unlocked it. Showing Edgey around the house was probably a good start. The little guy should know his way around in his new home.

Stepping over the threshold, you took off your shoes and threw them haphazardly to the side, before you went into your living room. You gently put the dog crate down on your coffee table and opened it, so that you could reach inside.

Your fingers barely touched the soft blankets as a loud growl could be heard. You hesitated, not daring to move even an inch. After some seconds you slowly pulled your hand out of the crate and instead bent down in order to look inside the crate through the opening.

You blinked several times upon seeing the blanket cocoon in the back of the crate. You could only see two bright red eyelights glaring back at you. The rest of the bitty was safely hidden beneath the blanket.

Was the little guy afraid of you? Or did he just feel uncomfortable? You didn’t know, but both options didn’t sit right with you.

“Would you like to come out? I want to show you your new home.” You tried to give him a reassuring smile, before you took a step back from the dog crate, so that Edgey wouldn’t feel pressured in any way.

You patiently waited for the bitty to come out of his own free will. While the little guy took his time you let your thoughts wander.

You got the impression that he didn’t like to be manhandled. At the shop he tried to bite the old lady and just now he growled at you as a warning before you could grab him. You weren’t sure if the bitty just didn’t trust you or if he had a problem with touching. You recalled the words of the shop owner. ‘A rough past’ could mean many things. You really hoped that it didn’t mean what you feared it did and that Edgey was just very shy.

After some more time you finally heard some rustling inside the dog crate. Shortly after the little guy came cautiously out of the crate and briefly looked around, before staring up at you.

You nodded with a small smile on your lips and motioned at your surroundings.

“Welcome to my home. Well, our home now. This is the living room. Over there is the kitchen.”

You pointed at the adjoining open kitchen, before looking back at your bitty. He looked at all the new surroundings with a wary air around him. You guessed he needed time to get used to it all.

“Follow me, please.” You walked out of the living room and into the hallway, while you could hear soft little footsteps following you.

Out in the long hallway you stepped up to the first door out of seven doors.

“On the left is my room and my best friend’s room. What is now a guest room I guess...” You frowned slightly, but quickly continued the tour of your house.

“On the right is a bathroom, a laundry room, that is also used as a kind of storage room and at the back is the door that leads into the basement.”

While you explained everything, you opened each door, so that Edgey could peek inside. The little guy was silent the whole time, just grunting or humming at some things you showed him.

You tried to let the silent treatment not bother you, as you lead the bitty back to the living room.

Even though you technically had the money for a bigger house, you liked the small house as it was. A bigger house meant more space for you alone – too much space for one person. Such an empty big house would only remind you again how lonely and alone you would be.

A quick glance at the clock in the living room told you that you still had some time before the stuff for your bitty would be delivered.

Not knowing what you should do now, you sat down on the sofa with a quiet sigh.

“If you want...”, you spoke up, while you pointed at the seat beside yourself.

The bitty seemed to hesitate, before he suddenly disappeared, only to reappear beside you on the couch. You couldn’t help yourself but to gape dumbfounded at the little skeleton.

“How… what… You can teleport?”, you blurted out shocked. You didn’t expect that.

But Edgey was just looking at you like you were the weirdest person on the planet, before he smirked at you and shrugged.

“Sure can, sweetheart”, he answered, but didn’t elaborate.

You didn’t ask further on the matter, as something else suddenly occupied your thoughts. He didn’t call you by name, what reminded you that you haven’t even introduced yourself yet.

“I’m so rude...”, you muttered and resisted the urge to facepalm. Great first impression, [Y/N]!

“I just remembered. You don’t even know my name. So sorry! I’m [Y/N]”, you introduced yourself awkwardly with a hesitant smile on your lips.

The small skeleton just nodded, while mumbling your name under his breath.

Silence. Awkward silence.

Worrying your own bottom lip you noticed that Edgey didn’t introduce himself in return. Granted you already knew his name. Well, no, technically you only knew the name of his bitty type. Did Edgey even have a real name? And did he even like to be called Edgey?

“Do you have a name?”

The bitty slowly turned his head and looked at you like you were stupid, before he responded with a simple “Edgey.”

“Well, yes, but Edgey is what your bitty type is called. I just thought you might want an individual name just for you.”

You barely finished your sentence, as the little guy’s eyelights vanished without a warning and just empty dark eye sockets were staring back at you. Upon seeing that you hurriedly backtracked. You didn’t want to upset him!

“Edgey is fine too! If you like to be called Edgey that’s fine, I just…”

“I would like a name”, the bitty interrupted you in a quiet voice with red glowing cheeks adorning his face.

H e averted his reappeared eyelights and looked at the floor, seemingly embarrassed. You thought he looked really cute the way he was blushing. His whole face was red!

“How about Crimson?”, you blurted out without thinking, regretting it right afterwards. How stupid could you be? You couldn’t name someone after a color!

“Sure, why not.” The bitty’s voice brought your thoughts to a halt.

He was still blushing and not looking at you. You weren’t sure if he was just agreeing because you were his new owner or if he really liked the name.

“Are you sure? You don’t have to agree just because I suggested it.” You looked down at the bitty, still unsure with this whole situation.

“I like it, so stop worryin’! Ya look stupid with that face!”, he suddenly shouted, glaring at you, before he abruptly looked away again. Blushing all the while.

You were dumbfounded for a moment, but then you chuckled quietly.

“Crimson it is. Welcome home Crimson.”

 

* * *

 

**POV Change Crimson**

 

His thoughts didn’t stop spinning the whole ride, which didn’t help him to calm down. At least his blanket cocoon gave him the fragile feeling of being somewhat safe.

He really had no idea what you were like. He just couldn’t figure you out, which was fucking frustrating! He just hoped that you weren’t another cruel owner. He probably wouldn’t survive that a second time.

He was brought out of his thoughts when he noticed that the car had stopped and you started to walk. He couldn’t see much out of the dog crate and his blanket cocoon, so that he couldn’t say where you were going.

He desperately tried to calm down, while his soul pounded hard in his ribcage. He fucking hated not knowing what was going on! It just fed his damn anxiety. Some small rational part in his head was suggesting that you were probably just going home with him. No worries there, except he didn’t know what you were planning with him when you got home!

He kept quiet, while he waited restlessly what would happen and listened to all the sounds he could hear.

It wasn’t long before the dog crate was put down and opened.

Suddenly, without warning, a big hand reached inside, going straight for him. Before the hand could touch him, he immediately growled loudly as a warning.

He didn’t like to be touched, or worse, to be manhandled by these stupid humans. Not after his last damn owner. If he could avoid it you won’t touch him in the near future, at least not until you earned his trust. Not until he could be sure you wouldn’t hurt him.

He didn’t want a repeat of big scarred hands grabbing him tightly and pushing him down on a dirty table. Then pain, more pain, never ending pain! Why couldn’t it stop?! Make it stop!

He was pulled out of his trance when the hand retreated, leaving him confused. Why was it retreating? Where was the pain he was expecting?

He jerked slightly when a face appeared in the opening of the dog crate. But instead of the male cruel looking face, which still sometimes haunted him in his dreams, a female tired looking face was looking back at him. Unconsciously he relaxed a little bit at the sight. Right, he wasn’t at that terrible place anymore.

“Would you like to come out? I want to show you your new home.”

He wasn’t really sure if he wanted to do that. You seemed to be nice so far, but he didn’t want to get his hopes up only to have them crushed again. But there was also no sense in hiding in this dog crate forever. He had to leave that damn thing at some point.

Gritting his sharp teeth, he freed himself from his blanket cocoon and cautiously left the crate. Outside he checked his surroundings briefly for anything nasty looking, before he looked up at his new owner, waiting for your next move.

He noticed that you looked nervous and even your small smile appeared unsure. What did you have to be nervous about? Fucking humans made no sense!

While following you silently through the house, he looked at everything warily, dreading that at any moment all his fears would come true and that you would show your true colors. But every room looked nice. Old looking, but with a welcoming feel to it. There was no sign of anything unsettling in the house. Not caring to comment on anything, he followed you back to the living room.

Edgey watched how you sat down on the sofa. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do now. Was he even allowed on the furniture or did you expect of him to sit on the floor?

“If you want...”, you spoke up, while pointing at the seat beside yourself. Well, that answered that question.

But he was still hesitant to follow the invitation to sit down, as the thought came to mind that this could be just a test. His former owner used to do such things. That prick tested him on things he knew he usually wasn’t allowed to do and if he made the wrong decision he was punished.

He couldn’t imagine, didn’t want to imagine, that you were like this as well.

So he clenched his little fists and teleported on the sofa, only to hear a gasp from you.

“How… what… You can teleport?”

Were you fucking kidding him? Were you fucking stupid or something? He couldn’t help but look at you in disbelieve. Everyone knew that bitties could teleport, at least every owner knew that much. As far as he knew that was common knowledge.

He could tell that your reaction was genuine, so you weren’t pretending not to know. You really had no idea. Under which damn rock did you live?!

Not sure how he should react to that, he fell back to his default reaction, playing it down.

“Sure can, sweetheart”, he replied with a taunting smirk and shrugged.

When you didn’t respond immediately, he looked around the room again. He really couldn’t figure you out. Who got a bitty and didn’t know anything about a bitty? He was pretty sure that bitties can teleport wasn’t the only fact about bitties you didn’t know of.

He looked up startled when you suddenly muttered something about being rude. Where did that come from? Before he could have asked about it, you opened your mouth again and introduced yourself. He only nodded slightly and repeated the name quietly, trying it out on his tongue. It sounded nice.

He didn’t know what he should say to keep the conversation going, so he stayed silent. But at least now he had a name for his new owner, even though he wasn’t sure yet if he would use it in the near future.

“Do you have a name?”, your voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

You should already know that his type was called Edgey. Did you already forget that or were you really that fucking stupid?

“Edgey”, he answered nonetheless.

“Well, yes, but Edgey is what your bitty type is called. I just thought you might want an individual name just for you.”

He didn’t expect that. He was too shocked to respond immediately.

His first owner just called him Edgey, while his second owner preferred insults. He never had a name before. The idea of a name, his own name, a name only for him, warmed his soul.

“I would like a name.” He said it before he could have thought about it, at the same time interrupting your ramblings unconsciously with his statement.

The moment he realized what he just admitted, he hurriedly averted his eyelights, cursing himself silently as he felt the heat in his cheeks. That was so fucking embarrassing!

“How about Crimson?”

He looked up at your suggestion, only to quickly avert his eyelights again. Crimson didn’t sound that bad. It was definitely better than ‘worthless shit’, ‘fucker’ or ‘little pest’. In fact the more times he repeated the name in his mind the more he liked it. That warm feeling in his soul also intensified. It was like it slowly but surely warmed his whole body.

“Sure, why not”, he said nonchalantly, not wanting to show you how much he liked the name. His damn red cheeks were bad enough! Why could he not stop blushing?!

“Are you sure? You don’t have to agree just because I suggested it.”

The doubt in your voice and your worried expression didn’t sit right with him. He didn’t like that unsure look on your face. Why were you even so nervous and insecure around him?

“I like it, so stop worryin’! Ya look stupid with that face!”, he couldn’t help but shout at you, glaring all the while, before abruptly turning away. You didn’t have a reason to act like that. You just gave him a name, gave him something to call his own. He wouldn’t say thank you out loud, but he was tankful for that.

“Crimson it is. Welcome home Crimson”, you declared with a chuckle. There, that smile suited you way better.

Maybe his fears were unfounded and you really were a decent human being, like you seemed to be. He would give you a chance and allow himself to hope again. He wanted to cherish that warm feeling in his soul forever and if you could cause that wonderful sensation then staying couldn’t be that bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Visit me on my [Tumblr](https://creationofhell.tumblr.com/).


	5. The essentials

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The essentials for your Bitty are delivered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys!  
> At long last a new chapter has arrived! Hurraay~  
> (If anyone even still reads this FF :'D)  
> I'm not really satisfied with the chapter, but I don't know how or what to change. So here you have it as it is.
> 
> Well~ Enjoy the chapter!  
> (Don't know if I should warn for any triggers? Just be careful reading this chapter!)

You sat together in comfortable silence on the couch. Every so often your gaze went to the clock on the wall. It shouldn’t be too long until your delivery arrived. So you wondered what you should do in the meantime.

You didn’t have to wonder for long, as the doorbell chimed not much later.

“Be right back”, you informed Crimson, as you got up and left the living room.

You opened the door to an annoyed looking postman, who practically shoved your package into your arms, before asking for a signature. After signing the device, you nodded at the postman as a goodbye, closed the door and carried the big box back to the living room.

You put the box in front of the couch and sat back down on the couch.

“Isn’t that heavy?”, Crimson asked, while looking warily at the big box.

You supposed that the package probably was heavy for most humans, but for you such a weight was nothing. So you just shook your head in the negative.

“Not at all.”

You opened the box and started to take the contents out.

The first thing you grabbed was a pamphlet, which seemed to contain basic information about Bitties. Bitty heights, soul magic, all the stuff you had read on the poster in the bitty shop, but the title ‘teleportation’ caught your eye.

‘ _Bittys can teleport, but not through solid objects like walls, doors, windows etc._ _H_ _ow far they can teleport depends on the individual Bitty, but they have to see the spot they want to teleport t_ _o._ ’

You briefly glanced over the other text, before putting the pamphlet aside.

Next you grabbed a simple dog basket with a blue pillow and a blue blanket. Looking at it closer, you wondered if it was a little bit too small for Crimson. You glanced at the Bitty, while you put the dog basket next to Crimson on the sofa.

“If it’s too small for you we can buy a bigger dog basket tomorrow”, you told the Bitty.

Crimson looked conflicted, before he just nodded with a quiet grunt. You looked questionably at him, but didn’t dwell too long on it. So you shrugged and pulled the next thing out of the box.

It was a starter food pack, that claimed to have all the vitamins a Bitty needed.

Upon hearing a disgusted sounding noise from Crimson, you looked at the little skeleton. When he noticed that you were looking at him, he started to sweat with a very nervous expression on his face. He stared silently back at you.

“You don’t like the food?”, you asked him.

“That’s no food! That’s fuckin’ disgustin’ gray mush!”, he suddenly angrily exclaimed, before his eye sockets widened. “I… I didn’t mean ta curse, I swear! Sorry!”, he hurriedly apologized with a frantic look on his little face.

You couldn’t help but frown, what made the Bitty even more nervous. You didn’t like that reaction, at all. You especially didn’t like that your assumptions seemed to be true after all. You felt anger about the fact that someone could hurt – even worse could possibly abuse – such a sweet, helpless, little being. A normal person usually wouldn’t react that way.

When you noticed that Crimson started to shake, you quickly forced your anger down and smiled reassuringly at the little skeleton instead. You didn’t want to scare him.

“You don’t have to apologize. I don’t mind if you swear, as long as you don’t insult me personally!” When Crimson just nodded slightly, but kept silent, you added something else: “How about we buy some food you like tomorrow? Unfortunately you still have to eat this ‘gray mush’ today, because I don’t have anything else. I’m sorry.”

Crimson looked at the food pack with barely disguised disgust, before he spoke up with some hesitation: “I can eat normal human food, ya know.”

You didn’t know that, what you guessed was also Crimson’s thought process. But that still didn’t solve the problem. Your best friend ate all the last food you had for breakfast this morning.

“Good to know”, you remarked sheepishly before sighing deeply. “Still, I’m sorry. I don’t have anything to eat in the house.”

Crimson looked at you strangely.

“Nothin’? And what are ya goin’ to eat then?”

“I already ate today and then I forgot to go grocery shopping. I don’t eat that much”, you responded with a half truth. You couldn’t tell him the whole truth, that you were a vampire, who only drank blood and didn’t need any human food.

It seemed like Crimson wanted to say something else before he just shook his head and grunted with a deep frown on his face.

Not wanting to linger on the topic any longer, you quickly grabbed something else out of the box.

A set of clothes, a rather boring set of clothes. Two t-shirts, one black and the other one white, two shorts, two sweaters and two long pants, all a pair of white and black. There also was a pair of black and a pair of red shoes.

“I guess we also have to buy some more interesting clothes tomorrow”, you mumbled, while putting the clothes aside.

“Ya don’t have ta… The sweaters are fine”, Crimson piped up, glancing at you while still frowning. His words didn’t really fit his expressions.

“We’re going shopping tomorrow anyway. So we can also buy clothes beside some food. Don’t worry about it, Crimson.”

The Bitty still didn’t look convinced, but also didn’t say anything else. He just shrugged instead.

You turned back to the box and pulled the next thing out. It was a black collar with a golden dog tag. A closer look also revealed your name and your contact info on it. You couldn’t help but to frown slightly. Why was there a collar in the package? You didn’t want to collar Crimson. You would find it humiliating if someone put such a thing on you.

You looked over at Crimson, in order to ask him what the collar was for, only for your dead heart to skip a beat.

The little guy’s eye sockets were pitch black, while he stared at the collar in your hands. But much more worrisome was that he was shaking badly. When he lifted his claws and started to scratch his neck harshly, you reacted quickly.

You dropped the collar and swiftly grabbed Crimson’s hands in a gentle grip, whereupon the small skeleton stiffened. Only when you pulled his hands away from his throat did he start to struggle wildly. You didn’t even flinch when the little guy bit your hands with his sharp teeth, flailing and shouting nonsense all the while. You still held his little hands in your own hands, ignoring the pain and the blood that welled up from the bite marks.

You felt helpless. What were you supposed to do in such a situation? Was he having a panic attack? What would that look like? What were you supposed to do?!

“Crimson! Hey Crimson! Please calm down. It’s me [Y/N]. Everything is alright. You’re safe, I promise!” You couldn’t help the slight tremor in your voice, as you tried to calm the skeleton down.

Did your words even reach him? Could he hear you? Were you saying the right things?!

Not knowing what else you could do you kept talking to him, while you started to stroke the back of his hands.

It took a while, but at some point it seemed like he was coming out of it. His struggling lessened until he went completely limp in your hold.

“Crimson?”, you asked tentatively and looked into his empty eye sockets for a reaction.

The red eyelights didn’t reappear, but he turned his head towards your face. He was staring at you for some long seconds, before finally those red dots appeared again, only to wander down to your hands.

You also looked down, whereupon you noticed the blood on your hands. Blood without any bite marks, which were already healed. You hurriedly released his little hands, before pulling back your own hands. Your hope that the little guy hadn’t seen the blood was destroyed when he spoke up.

“Wha’…? I… you… I hurt ya! I… the c-collar…” Crimson looked bewildered, as he frantically looked around the room. You supposed he was looking for said collar.

You swiftly took advantage of his distraction and grabbed some tissues from the coffee table. You wiped the still fresh blood from your hands, before you stuffed the bloody tissue into your trousers pocket. That took care of the evidence. You didn’t want to explain where the blood came from when there was no wound to be found.

“Crimson? Crimson look at me, please”, you addressed the skeleton gently.

“I hurt ya! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean ta, I swear! But the collar… the collar… What happened?!” Wild red dots were staring at you desperately. Your soul hurt to see the little guy like this.

“I’m not hurt, not really. Look, there is no damage.” To proof your point you showed him your clean hands.

“But…-”

“It was a little painful, I admit. But you didn’t bite hard enough to break my skin. So no worries! I’m not mad and I’m fine!”

Crimson seemed to hesitate, before he carefully grabbed one of your hands and looked it over. He seemed confused. With a frown he released your hand again and looked up to you instead.

“Sorry...”

“I forgive you. I, well… I hate to bring it up, but what just happened? You saw the collar and you freaked out. I was really worried and didn’t know what to do...”

“I… hate collars.”

“...why?”

“Just… because!”

“...alright. You don’t have to wear it.”

There was a long pause, before Crimson huffed loudly and shook his head.

“Ya don’t know. It figures...”

“What do I not know?”

“The collar… it…” Again the skeleton huffed and with a frustrated look on his face he pointed at the pamphlet, that was still lying on the couch.

“Read it yourself!”

You grabbed the pamphlet and looked at the contents until you found the passage about collars.

‘ _Wearing the collar is required. With the help of the dog tag – that has the name and the owner’s contact info on it – every_ _B_ _itty, that gets lost, can be found and brought back to their owner again. Not wearing the collar can be punished with a financial penalty. It can also happen that a_ _B_ _itty without a collar is regarded ownerless and will be brought back to the bitty shop. It will depend on the case if the_ _B_ _itty will be returned to their owner or if the bitty shop reclaims ownership._ ’

“Oh… I see...” You didn’t know this. Bitties really seemed to be treated like every other pet there was.

“Yeah...”, Crimson mumbled dejectedly.

You really didn’t want Crimson to wear that collar, but you also didn’t want to break the law. Conflicted you bit your bottom lip and read the text over again. Wait a minute…

“You don’t have to wear the collar all the time!”

“What? Did ya even read the damn pamphlet?!”

“I did! Just listen! When we’re at home you don’t have to wear the collar at all. You can’t get lost in here. And beside that I don’t have any neighbors, so no one can complain about a Bitty without a collar in the neighborhood. You only have to wear the collar when we go outside into the city, where other people are. And I promise that the collar will be real loose. I won’t tighten it, so that you don’t have to feel restricted in any way. Look at it like a necklace or something.”

You couldn’t help but to squirm a little bit, when the skeleton was just staring at you with wide eye sockets. Did you say something wrong? You thought it was a really good solution.

“Alright… That’s acceptable, I think...”, he answered after a while, even though he still didn’t sound too sure about the whole thing.

You just gave him a reassuring smile. You were sure that the issue wasn’t solved completely, but for now you didn’t want Crimson to dwell on it any longer. You were curious what happened to cause such a reaction, but you also dreaded the answer at the same time. You were worried for Crimson and felt anger towards whoever was at fault for hurting the little skeleton like that. That was just unforgivable!

Sighing quietly you turned back to the box once again. There was still some stuff left.

Next you pulled out a special wash lotion for Bitties. The label promised that the lotion was very good for a Bitty’s bones.

You put the wash lotion aside and took the rest out of the box. Two plushies, a tiger and an elephant, some mandalas with crayons and a tablet in bitty size.

“At least you won’t be bored.”

“Guess not...” Crimson shrugged and looked at the plushies and the mandalas with a critical eye. But the tablet seemed to have caught his interest.

You should probably provide him internet access, so that he could surf the internet. A tablet wasn’t the same without internet. You would do it later in the day.

“That’s all. There is nothing else in the box”, you exclaimed, after looking into said box.

“Fuckin’ finally!”

You couldn’t help but to chuckle at Crimson’s words, only to quiet down when you really looked at him. He looked exhausted and stressed out. That episode was probably hard on him. Not to mention all the new impressions within a few hours. That was a lot to process.

“Why don’t you rest up a little bit and check out your new tablet, while I put away all the other stuff.”

Your only answer was a grunt and a slight nod. Nodding slightly yourself, you took the tablet, connected the charge cable, turned the tablet on and gave it to your Bitty.

“Have fun. Yell if you need anything.” With those words you gathered the other stuff to put it away.

The pamphlet stayed on the coffee table, the starter food pack was stored in one of the cupboards in the kitchen, the wash lotion was put on the shelve in the bathroom and the collar found its place on the clothes hook at the entrance. Which only left the dog basket and the clothes.

You stood in the hallway and looked between the door to your room and the door to your friend’s room back and forth. Should you put the dog basket and the clothes into your room or into the new guestroom?

You didn’t really want to leave Crimson alone at night, but at the same time you didn’t want to intrude in any way. You knew that the little guy didn’t trust you fully yet. If you didn’t trust someone you wouldn’t want to sleep with them in the same room.

Sighing quietly you put the basket and the clothes on the floor between the two doors. You would ask Crimson later what he wanted. It was only fair to let him decide where he wanted to sleep.

With that decision you went back to the living room. There you found an Edgey Bitty asleep on the couch and cuddled up with the tiger plushie. The tablet sat right next to him on the couch.

He looked really cute like that. Smiling you took the tablet and silently sat down on the free space of the couch. Now what to do? You didn’t want to wake him up. Crimson really needed the rest. You supposed you could stay here with him until he woke up. You still had some freelance work to do anyway.

So first you set the tablet up for Crimson, before you grabbed your laptop and started to work on one of your commissions.

 

* * *

 

**POV Change Crimson**

 

Crimson jolted slightly when the doorbell chimed. Were you expecting a visitor? He silently watched how you left the living room, only to come back with a big package. Wasn’t that thing heavy? It sure looked like it.

“Isn’t that heavy?” He couldn’t help but to speak his thoughts out loud.

“Not at all”, was your short answer against his assumption.

He had to remind himself again of your unusually high stats. It seemed like you really were stronger than you looked.

Curious he looked at the box, wondering what was in it. He didn’t have to wonder for long, as you opened the box and started to empty it.

First was a pamphlet, that Crimson immediately recognized. Every new owner or people who were interested in a Bitty got those pamphlets. Basic information about Bitties. The way you were looking at it and probably reading some parts of it suggested that most of it was new information to you. What exactly did you know about Bitties?

Next came a dog basket with a blanket and a pillow out of the box. The little skeleton could already guess that it was too small for him, what you also seemed to notice.

The idea to buy a new dog basket wasn’t that thrilling. He didn’t want you to spend unnecessary money on him. He could fit into that basket if he curled up a little bit. Any items for bigger Bitties like him were more expensive. On one hand were the production costs and on the other hand was the fact that big Bitties were on the rarer side. There were a lot more smaller Bittes out there than big ones.

There was also the possibility that you would let him sleep in your bed if the dog basket was too small for him. His soul yearned for any affection and closeness from someone. He couldn’t help that a Bitty’s natural instinct was to sleep as close as possible to their owner, so that they could feel and absorb their human’s magic while sleeping.

Frustrated with himself for thinking about that – for even wanting it to happen – he nodded with a quiet grunt.

He forgot all about the basket when he saw that fucking disgusting excuse for food in your hands. Were you really expecting him to eat that stuff? He gagged at the memory of how that shit tasted.

When he saw you looking at him with a nondescript expression, his soul started to pound in apprehension. Were you mad? His former owner didn’t give him much food, but when he did it was always some disgusting tasting food. He remembered being punished when he hadn’t eaten that crap. You wouldn’t force him to eat something he didn’t want to eat. Right?

“You don’t like the food?” Even your voice didn’t betray how you felt. But how could you call this fucking shit food?!

“That’s no food! That’s fuckin’ disgustin’ gray mush!”, he angrily exclaimed, before his eye sockets widened as he realized what he just said. He just couldn’t keep his damn big mouth shut!

“I… I didn’t mean ta curse, I swear! Sorry!”, he hurriedly apologized. He didn’t really think that you would punish him like his former owner had done, but still he couldn’t squash those damn fears. He hadn’t been allowed to be himself for so long, that everything he did seemed to be wrong one way or the other.

Your sudden frown was just confirming his assumptions. What was it this time? What did he say or do to make you angry? You wouldn’t hurt him, right? You said you wouldn’t! You did say that… or did you? Damn it all! He couldn’t remember! What the fuck was wrong with him!?

Crimson didn’t even notice that he started to shake, not until your gentle voice pulled him from his own thoughts.

“You don’t have to apologize. I don’t mind if you swear, as long as you don’t insult me personally!”

You didn’t mind? Was he just overthinking things? He nodded slightly, still trying to comprehend the situation. His thoughts were one giant mess right now.

“How about we buy some food you like tomorrow? Unfortunately you still have to eat this ‘gray mush’ today, because I don’t have anything else. I’m sorry.”

The little skeleton looked at the food pack with barely disguised disgust. He really didn’t want to eat that fucking shit. Why couldn’t you just give him an apple or even just a slice of bread?! Everything would be fine, as long as he didn’t have to eat that damn gray mush any longer.

A sudden thought struck him… Did you not want to give him other food or did you not know that he could eat human food? It had to be the latter. You didn’t seem to know anything about Bitties. What the hell?!

“I can eat normal human food, ya know.”

“Good to know.”, you remarked sheepishly before sighing deeply. “Still, I’m sorry. I don’t have anything to eat in the house.”

“Nothin’? And what are ya goin’ to eat then?” Were you fucking with him?! You had to eat something, so there had to be some food in the house!

“I already ate today and then I forgot to go grocery shopping. I don’t eat that much.”

He could just stare in disbelieve at you. He couldn’t tell if you were lying or of if you were just that dumb. Was that a frequent occurrence? Should he be worried for you? Or better yet should he be worried that he would eventually starve because you forgot to go grocery shopping?

Shaking his head with an exasperated grunt, he decided to not say anything further on the matter. If that really will be the case, then he had to remind you to go grocery shopping. That simple… probably. What a fucking nuisance!

Crimson got distracted when you pulled a set of clothing out of the box. They looked really plain. But more important was the fact that the t-shirts and shorts were too short. He couldn’t wear them. His hand automatically grasped his arm, where he could faintly feel all the chips, scratches and marks on his bones under the sweater’s thick material. He didn’t want you to see all these ugly scars. Hell, he didn’t even want to see them himself! There was a reason why he only wore clothes with long sleeves.

“I guess we also have to buy some more interesting clothes tomorrow”, you mumbled, while putting the clothes aside.

“Ya don’t have ta… The sweaters are fine.”

He wasn’t really comfortable with that. Same reason as with the dog basket. Even though a new set of clothes, that looked cool, sounded really tempting.

“We’re going shopping tomorrow anyway. So we can also buy clothes beside some food. Don’t worry about it, Crimson.”

Well, he supposed he couldn’t stop you, no matter if he liked it or not. So he just shrugged. Whatever. As long as you didn’t see the ugly state his body was in, you could do whatever you wanted. It was your money not his! So he didn’t have to feel guilty for anything!

He glanced at the next item you took out of the box, only for his soul to skip a beat. A collar, a fucking damn collar! He couldn’t tear his gaze from the damn thing, while his throat tightened up. Tighter and tighter! He couldn’t breath! It hurt, it fucking hurt! Stop, please stop! He didn’t even notice how fast and hard his soul started to pound, not until his whole chest started to hurt too.

He couldn’t fucking breath! Take that damn collar off!!! Why didn’t he stop?! The pulling on the leash wasn’t helping the matter. It hurt! Please stop, master, please!!!

Desperate for air, desperate for it to stop, he reached up to tear that damn collar from his throat. But the only thing his claws met was his own throat. Where was the damn collar?! He still couldn’t breath! Why?! Make it stop, please make it stop!

He stiffened as something suddenly grabbed his hands. Please don’t hurt him. He just wanted the collar off, nothing else!

But his pleading wasn’t heard. That something, hands he realized, pulled his own hands away from his throat.

No!! Please don’t! No more punishment! He was sorry for trying to take the collar off! He tried to struggle, to defend himself, even though he knew it was futile. It wouldn’t help. On the contrary it would just worsen his situation. But still! He couldn’t just sit there and take it! Let go, please let go! Let him breath, make the pain go away!

The loud, angry and manly voice of his former owner was drowning him! No… wait… it wasn’t male. The voice sounded female. That couldn’t be, right? Who was that? He couldn’t understand! Crimson? What about the color? Crimson… it sounded familiar. It sounded important. Like the meaning wasn’t the color, but something else. Why did he feel happy to hear that word? Crimson… Crimson… not the color… but his name! The name [Y/N] gave him!

He wasn’t at that horrible place anymore. He wasn’t wearing a collar. No one was pulling on a leash connected to his collar. He was safe…

“Crimson?” The familiar hesitant voice sounded again. Crimson was his name, that’s him.

He turned his head to the source of the voice and stared. He didn’t remember you being a blurry blob without any shape or form. It took some seconds, but slowly his vision cleared and he could finally see you again. You looked so worried. For him?

He was distracted as the scent of blood reached his nose. What the…?!

Looking down he saw the blood. Red dark blood all over your hands. Did he do that?! He couldn’t remember doing that! How bad was the damage?! He barely took in the sight, when you suddenly pulled your hands out of sight.

“Wha’…? I… you… I hurt ya! I… the c-collar…” He frantically looked around the room for said collar. The damn thing that started it all. He wanted to burn that fucking thing! It was because of that fucking collar that he hurt you! It was the damn collar’s fault that he felt so guilty, confused and miserable right now!

“Crimson? Crimson look at me, please.” Why did you sound so gentle? Why were you not angry? He hurt you! No Bitty was supposed to hurt their owner!

“I hurt ya! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean ta, I swear! But the collar… the collar… What happened?!” He stared at you desperately. He had to know. He didn’t remember hurting you, but it was obvious he did just that.

“I’m not hurt, not really. Look, there is no damage”, you tried to convince him and showed him your clean hands.

“But…-” That couldn’t be! He saw the blood. He didn’t imagine it, right?

“It was a little painful, I admit. But you didn’t bite hard enough to break my skin. So no worries! I’m not mad and I’m fine.”

The skin wasn’t broken? But the blood! He had to see it for himself. Hesitantly he reached for your hand and pulled it closer to him. It looked a little bit reddened, but there really was no blood, not even a wound. But he could have sworn that he saw the blood. He even smelled it! What the fuck was going on?! Was he starting to hallucinate?

But he did hurt you. Blood or no blood. Damn it all…

“Sorry...”, he apologized, while looking at you.

“I forgive you. I, well… I hate to bring it up, but what just happened? You saw the collar and you freaked out. I was really worried and didn’t know what to do...”

“I… hate collars.” He really did…

“...why?”

“Just… because!” He didn’t want to tell you why he freaked out like he did. Not yet at least. Maybe sometime in the future.

“...alright. You don’t have to wear it.”

He didn’t? What were you fucking talking about?! He had to wear the damn thing. It was the fucking law. Were you stupid? Or you also didn’t know about that. What did you know?! Nothing at all it seemed!

“Ya don’t know. It figures...”

“What do I not know?”

He was right!

“The collar… it…” He couldn’t deal with this anymore. His nerves were shot. He felt so exhausted all of the sudden. Frustrated he huffed and pointed at the forgotten pamphlet on the couch. He knew that there was also something written about collars in there.

“Read it yourself!”

He tiredly watched how you grabbed the pamphlet and started to read.

“Oh… I see...”

“Yeah...”, he mumbled dejectedly. He really didn’t want to wear that damn thing again, but what choice did he have in the matter. None.

“You don’t have to wear the collar all the time!”

“What? Did ya even read the damn pamphlet?!”

How fucking stupid were you? Seriously?!

“I did! Just listen! When we’re at home you don’t have to wear the collar at all. You can’t get lost in here. And beside that I don’t have any neighbors, so no one can complain about a bitty without a collar in the neighborhood. You only have to wear the collar when we go outside into the city, where other people are. And I promise that the collar will be real loose. I won’t tighten it, so that you don’t have to feel restricted in any way. Look at it like a necklace or something.”

He never thought about it like that. He just assumed he had to wear it all the time. He had to wear it all the time before. Both his former owners never took the collar off, ever.

And again he felt that strange warm feeling in his soul. He still couldn’t believe that this was happening. You were too good to be true.

“Alright… That’s acceptable, I think...” He wasn’t feeling comfortable with the idea of wearing that damn thing, but if it wasn’t all the time, he could manage. Maybe…

To distract himself from the collar, he watched what else you pulled out of the package.

A wash lotion. He sincerely hoped that you wouldn’t give him a bath. He could wash himself and he still didn’t want you to see all his scars.

The next items were more interesting. Especially the tablet. He could play games on that. And surf the internet! There was a lot of interesting stuff on the internet. Provided you would grant him internet access.

“At least you won’t be bored.”

“Guess not...” He shrugged, still wondering what he could do with the tablet. He wasn’t sure if he would use the plushies and the mandalas.

“That’s all. There is nothing else in the box”, you exclaimed, after looking into said box.

“Fuckin’ finally!”, he couldn’t help but to shout out.

He felt so damn exhausted. He just wanted to sleep and forget everything that happened. Well, not everything. He had to admit that not all had been bad today. He wouldn’t forget how you gave him his own name…

Your voice pulled him out of his thoughts again. What was it now?

“Why don’t you rest up a little bit and check out your new tablet, while I put away all the other stuff.”

Rest sounded heavenly! He would do just that. To let you know that he heard you, he nodded while grunting quietly. He was too tired to speak properly. He watched how you fiddled with the tablet, before handing it over to him. He took it and stared at the bright screen, only barely noticing how you scurried around and left the room.

He really wanted to check out the tablet, but the longer he stared at the screen the harder it was to keep his eye sockets open. He should probably take a nap. Sleep sounded amazing right now.

The tablet slipped from his grasp as his eye sockets couldn’t stay open any longer. With a big yawn he lied down and unconsciously reached for one of the plushies. He was so worn out, that he sought out any form of comfort. He needed something to hold on to. And the soft, fluffy plushie gave him a small comfort.

He was deep asleep within seconds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Visit me on my [Tumblr](https://creationofhell.tumblr.com/).


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